Bedtime
by Banira
Summary: Bella was usually the one to tuck her in at night, seeing as she was the one that their daughter adored to no end. That night though, his wife was out hunting and he was the one to get Nessie to bed. An Edward and Nessie bonding story


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight saga or any of the characters portrayed here, it all belongs to the lovely Stephenie Meyers.**

**This is my first time writing for the Twilight fandom, so maybe if Breaking Dawn keeps growing on me then there might be some others. Really, I thought there wasn't enough Edward and Nessie bonding, so that's what inspired this little piece. **

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"Daddy?"

Edward turned around, his pale hand still placed on the light switch after previously flicking it off. His golden eyes looked at her chocolate ones softly, pausing a second to see if she would talk again. After a moment, he knew that the small girl wouldn't speak out again and walked over to her. Sitting next to her on the edge of her oversized pink bed, the golden eyed vampire reached out, letting her gently touch his alabaster hand.

_'Mama always reads me a bedtime story.' _

He smiled as she let her mind connect with his, allowing her thoughts to be heard. Though he could always prod inside her head easily, he knew she preferred being able to use her gift, just as she preferred her gift over speaking.

"Which story would you like tonight, Princess?" his velvet voice asked softly, glancing over to the large cherry wood bookcase to the side of her bed.

When he called her Princess, it seemed more accurate than just an affectionate nickname. The little girl really was treated as if she were royalty, and even at her age had an elegant and graceful touch in everything she did. Her room was proof enough of that. Not only was it extremely large, everything in the room was incredibly expensive. The bed itself was queen sized, pale pink pillows with a golden trim and an equally pink satin comforter resting on top. It seemed that everything in the room was either pink or gold, if not a combination of the two, other than the cherry wood bed frame, bookshelf, and flooring.

Renesmee paused, her bronze eyebrows furrowing cutely in thought. Her small hand reached out to touch Edward's arm again, looking up at him with her melted chocolate eyes, _'I want a new story.'_

His bronze locks fell to the side as he cocked his head, "A new story?" His daughter nodded quickly, her thick curls bouncing up and down.

Edward paused for a moment, trying to think of a story that Nessie would like. Bella was usually the one to tuck her in at night, seeing as she was the one that their daughter adored to no end. That night though, his wife was out hunting and he was the one to get Nessie to bed.

Thinking about his beloved wife gave him an idea. Renesmee was very fond of princess stories, that much he knew, but the one that came to mind would work fine.

"Alright," he started, his velvet voice ringing through the silent room, "I have a very special story for you tonight."

A smile came to his perfectly carved lips when he saw Nessie's eyes light up. She shifted closer to him, cuddling against his side before he began. He gently wrapped an arm around her side, stroking her dark hair softly.

"Once upon a time, there weren't any human princesses or princes," at this he saw her eyes widen in disbelief and chuckled under his breath, "But there were vampire princes and princesses," he reassured her. She breathed a sigh of relief and let him continue.

"The humans worked in the fields all day, not knowing the creatures that lurked beyond the village. Vampires on the other hand, lived quietly and separately from the humans. They hunted humans discreetly, but not all did," he stopped as he felt a small hand.

'_Like Mama and Daddy?'_ her curious bell-like voice rung inside his head and he nodded.

"Yes, like our family does. But the number of vampires like us was small, and they weren't on good terms with the vampires who drank human blood."

Nessie nodded, urging him to get to the point of the story. She wanted to hear about the princesses and the princes, or any other fairytale like creature. To her, it was even more interesting though, because her father was the one telling the story. He hadn't told her stories very often, and the times he did, they were out of books she had read. Of course, her nighttime stories now were almost always ones she had read. That was why she wanted something new that night.

By now he knew she wanted get to the interesting part and continued, "There was one vampire prince named…" he hesitated trying to think of a name. His mind raced through his memory, not being able to think of a name to fit the vampire prince.

'_Jacob!'_ Nessie thought to him eagerly. Edward laughed for a moment, he was sure that dog would absolutely _love_ his place in the story and as a vampire no less.

"Alright Jacob it is then," he smiled, inwardly snickering. His little girl's eyes sparkled, a bit of pride showing. Of course her Jacob was the vampire prince.

"So Jacob was the prince of the vampires who didn't hunt humans, in fact he and his family lived right next to a human village peacefully. He was happy, he had two sisters and two brothers, and a wonderful mother and father. The only thing was that he felt like something was missing. His family all had someone special in their lives, but he had no one like that.

"One day, Jacob was out in the woods taking a walk. He was lonely, and hoped he'd be able to forget his sadness. It was then that he smelt human blood, but not just any human blood; it was the most delicious scent he had ever experienced. After many years of practice he was able to control himself, but he was still curious. He followed the scent to a river, finding a girl there."

In some sort of nostalgia, he nearly sighed. Though it was a much different version, he could remember that exact scent and how hard it was to resist. A tug on his sleeve reminded him to keep speaking. Looking down he saw his daughter still cuddled against him with her eyes eager for more.

"Jacob went over to the girl, who had been trying to fetch water but had slipped instead and skinned her knee. She was a very pretty girl; she had eyes and hair that were a dark brown. The prince stayed silent until she finally noticed someone behind her. Most people would have been scared, but the girl just stared and asked him who he was.

"'Jacob,' he told her simply. In reply the girl introduced herself," Edward trailed off, pausing a moment before a thought came to mind, "Her name was Renesmee."

Nessie looked absolutely delighted. _She _was the princess in the story, never in her Mama's stories was she the princess. Of course, her Father hadn't told her that Renesmee in the story was the princess, but she knew from all the other stories that she would be.

Edward patted her head and continued, "Jacob never offered to help her with her knee because the smell was too strong, and he was afraid that he might attack her. He liked the girl though, and so he asked her to come back to the same place the next day and she agreed.

"The next day they met, and continued to meet the days after that as well. Jacob knew he was starting to fall in love with the human girl, but he was worried, because it was forbidden for humans to know that vampires existed.

"Though one day, Renesmee tripped and would have fallen into the river if Jacob hadn't saved her. The problem was that he was much too far away to have gotten there in human time and she realized this when he saved her."

Edward was about to continue, but was stopped as his daughter interrupted him, "Wait!" her small voice cried, her eyes large, "Did he catch her princess style?"

The older vampire was a bit surprised she had spoken. She was so into the story that she hadn't put her thoughts into his head it seemed.

"Princess style?" he inquired, not exactly grasping what she was getting at.

She nodded vigorously, a serious look on her young face. Reaching up, she placed her small hand on his cheek. Immediately he saw the image of a storybook page with a prince holding a princess bridal style.

Renesmee waited for his response, hoping he'd say yes. Instead, Edward stalled a moment, slightly teasing her by not giving an answer just to see her wait in anticipation, "Yes, he caught her princess style," he finally announced, chuckling at the look the girl had on her face. It was a mix between excitement and relief, and it looked utterly adorable on her small face.

"As I was saying, Renesmee now knew he wasn't a normal person.

"'You're a vampire aren't you?' she asked him, 'We only meet on cloudy days, I've never seen you eat, even after I offer you lunch when we've been out here for hours, and you're able to do things that no human could do like you did just now.'

"He knew he was found out, and nodded solemnly. She would leave him now that she knew. Instead her eyes lit up, 'I was right?' she asked eagerly. Jacob was incredibly surprised by her response, but very happy as well.

"'You're not afraid?' he asked astounded. Renesmee shook her head in response, explaining that if he was going to hurt her he would have already done so and that he was her friend. Overtime, he showed her his secret place, a beautiful meadow where they then began to meet. More and more the two began to fall in love, and they were both happy when they finally told each other."

Edward stopped, feeling the small body against his shift. Renesmee had curled up against his side, her head resting on his knee. Her brown eyes were glazed over and half-closed, resisting the urge to go to sleep. She yawned tiredly, "Continue Daddy."

Her father smiled, running a flawless hand through her heavy curls, "How about I'll finish it tomorrow, right now you need to sleep."

She nodded against his knee, "Okay…I love you Daddy," she mumbled tiredly.

Nessie really looked like a sleeping angel, he thought. Her bronze locks were spread out under her head and her eyes closed peacefully. A small hand was fisted next to her head, the other resting against her side. Alice had bought her a white cotton nightgown that she was currently wearing. It had a bit of fringe on the ends and neckline, and a small pink bow on the collar.

"I love you too Renesmee," he whispered. He felt her breathing even and lifted her up softly, pulling the covers back with his other hand. In a perfectly swift movement, he set her down and pulled the blankets up, never waking her in the slightest. Placing a small kiss to her forehead, he stepped back, watching her sleeping face.

It was so hard to believe that at one time he didn't want the precious little girl that was lying before him. She was his little girl now, and he wouldn't let anything take her away. But he knew that there was one thing he wasn't able to stop: time. It would seem in turn for her having those human characteristics he adored, she was growing up in the blink of an eye. It had only been two years, and she was already at the appearance of a four year old. Mentally she could very well be eight. It made him realize just how important it was to spend time with, to not miss a moment of her fleeting youth.

Edward finally understood why Carlisle loved being a father. Watching her grow wasn't just sad, it also made him proud. Fatherhood didn't come right off the bat, he knew that firsthand. He had to go to his own father many times for some sort of guidance. Although, he had also learned a great deal from raising Nessie; the experiences were each amazing and profound.

They had their bad moments of course, such as trying to teach her that she couldn't bite people. Though, they also had their good moments. Edward's favorite memory was teaching her piano for the first time. She was definitely a natural, as expected from his daughter. He would have to remember to teach her Bella's song for Mother's Day.

With a last glance, he turned around and walked to the door. He turned the door knob quietly, trying not to wake his sleeping princess. As he stepped out into the hall, a thought flitted through his mind.

Just as Nessie was growing at a rapid pace, she'd also lose her human quality of sleep. Her human qualities to him were the greatest gift, little reminders of Bella's human life that he loved so much. The moments like the one they had just shared weren't going to last forever, and he'd make sure to cherish them while they were still there.

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**Thanks to my wonderful beta Hikari Adams for looking this over for me. Leave a comment if you liked it!**


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